Without A Trace
by Baby Jefer
Summary: Chandler loses his most prized possesions, how will he cope? Please R&R!


_Without a Trace_

_Chapter 1 – The Good Old Days_

A/N: Hey guys, this is my brand new series 'Without a Trace'. It's set about 16 years after the end of series 10, so that's 2020. Every now and then the story does flashback, I won't explain why, you'll just have to find out! This is predominantly a C&M story with the others making an appearance every now and then. I hope you enjoy it, please read and review!

2020

Sighing, Chandler Bing walked into his house that he shared with his wife and children. He could hear the three of them in the kitchen, all talking and giggling together. Closing his eyes, he remembered the same situation he had seen 11 years ago but it was still crystal clear in his mind....

2009

'Hello!' Chandler called cheerfully as he closed the front door behind him.

'Hello!' His wife replied to him from the kitchen. Dropping his briefcase on the floor he wandered through the living room in search of her. He could hear her talking to their two children who were giggling incessantly. Smiling he stepped through the door.

'Daddy!' Two voices sounding as one, cried out and ran towards him. First he scooped up his son, Jack, and planted a kiss on his forehead. Then he picked up Erica and she kissed him on his nose.

'Daddy, we've been cooking!' Erica told him proudly from her spot in his arms.

'Really? And how was Mummy with this?' He glanced over at Monica.

'Mummy was fine.' Monica walked over to them and Chandler bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

'EEEWWW!' Jack and Erica squealed together. Laughing, Monica kissed Chandler again and then went back to cooking the dinner.

'Right, who's got yucky hands?' Chandler asked trying to inspect Erica's. Erica squirmed and shrieked as she tried to keep them out of view of her father. Managing to release herself, she dropped to the floor and began running around the kitchen and into the living room. Laughing Chandler followed them. This was what life was about.

2020

'Chandler?' A hand gently touched his arm and he jumped.

'Wha-?' Then he calmed down, realising who it was. His wife was looking at him with concerned eyes.

'Are you alright?'

'Yea, I was just...' Chandler trailed off, not sure if she would realise what day it was.

'It's alright, darling,' she said soothingly, rubbing his arm, 'I know what today is. You miss them don't you?' She nodded towards the picture of Monica, Jack and Erica that took pride of place on the coffee table.

'I miss them every day, Sarah, but today...today...' His eyes filled with tears as he remebered what had happened 8 years ago that day.

2012

The taxi screeched to a halt and Chandler was thrown forward. He quickly recovered and realised that they had arrived outside his house. He had been away for a week on a business conference in Chicago. So excited to be home, he chucked a bunch of notes at the driver and rushed up the front path and flung the door open.

'Hello! I'm back!' He called loudly. Slinging his bag on the floor, he waited for Jack and Erica to come bounding down the stairs or for Monica to appear from the kitchen with a massive smile that she reserved just for him.

But there was silence. No one came bounding and no one appeared from the kitchen.

'How odd...' Chandler said to himself. He had been going on these conferences for the past five years and everytime he returned his family had always been there to greet him.

Wandering through the house, he tried to see if they were hiding anywhere or if anything was different. Suddenly a sickening thought came into his head. He remembered that a guy he had made friends with at the conference, told him that he had returned from a conference six months earlier to find his wife's clothes missing from the wardrobe. It had turned out that she was having an affair with a man at her office and had run away with him.

Taking the stairs two at a time, he burst into the master bedroom and rushed over to the wardrobe. Flinging it open, he let out the breath he didn't realise he was holding – all of Monica's clothes were still there.

'I'm probably just going paranoid...I've missed them too much.' Chandler rationalised to himself that the kids were probably getting restless and Monica had just taken them out for a bit.

He slowly made his way downstairs, switched the television on and waited for them to return.

But they never did. Chandler waited and waited. He called everyone he knew to ask if they had seen any of them. But none of them had. No one had seen his beautiful family for the past day or so.

Chandler isn't quite sure what happened next. He vaguely remembers making his way outside and then it goes blank. He was told by his neighbours that they found him in hysterics in his front garden. They rang for an ambulance who had sedated him. He vaguely remembers talking to the police who promised they would 'look into it'.

The police looked at every aspect. Had Monica taken the children and left her husband? Not very likely because the three passports were still there and no money had been removed from any of the bank accounts.

They considered kidnapping and even murder. For a few hours Chandler was thought to be a suspect but anyone could see he wasn't. He burst into tears when anything at all reminded him of them. After six months of searching all over the world for them, they were pronounced dead even though no bodies were found. Chandler couldn't believe it and cried for about three days solid.

The doctor prescribed anti-depressants which he was on for about four years until he met Sarah. Sarah was a vibrant woman who made Chandler realise that life was still worth living. He fell head over heels in love with her and when he kissed her for the first time he felt as if he could fly. Of course, he felt really guilty about Monica and stopped it as soon as possible and burst into tears. Sarah was really surprised and asked him what the matter was. Slowly, Chandler poured his heart out about his life and what had happened to his family. Sarah was really understanding. She told him that she loved him but that they would take it as slowly as he wanted.

Chandler appreciated her patience and they began to get to know each other inside out before taking their relationship any further. Chandler learnt that she had a 10 year old son called Will. She had had a one night stand with a man she had met in a bar and had become pregnant. Will had never met his father so was a bit weary of his mum's new boyfriend. Slowly over time, Will realised that Chandler was serious about her and they became friends. Will started to consider Chandler as his dad and when he called him that for the first time Chandler had never felt so happy.

2020

'Hey, Dad, you alright?' Will wandered in from the kitchen to find his parents embracing in the hallway.

'Yea, I'm fine.' He nodded towards the picture and Will understood what was going on. Chandler had explained about his missing family to Will about two months after they met. Will was really understanding and said that it was really cool that he had some brothers and sisters, even though he might never meet them. He understood that Chandler was overprotective of him because of what had happened to Jack and Erica.

'Daddy!' A little girl came running into the hallway after her big brother and flung herself at her father.

'Hey, Pippa Pumpkin.' He said, the first genuine smile of the day coming to his face. Pippa grinned back at him and lifted her arms up for a hug. Chandler willingly obliged and squeezed her tight.

When Chandler found out that Sarah was pregnant he began to get really paranoid that she was sleeping around as he had been told that he wasn't able to have children of his own. Sarah calmly explained that he was the only man she had slept with since they met. Chandler didn't believe her and refused to talk to her for a week. She spoke to him through the door but never got a reply. In the end she told him that she would have a test if he would just speak to her. He agreed and the next day they went to the hospital. They waited for three agonising hours before they were told the news that Chandler had been expecting but never admitted it – he was the father.

Slowly, during Sarah's pregnancy and Pippa's first year, Chandler began to realise that even though Monica, Jack and Erica were still important to him, he now had a new life with Sarah, Will and Pippa. Chandler stopped talking about them all the time and began to get on with his life. There were still four days when he felt down and thought about them a lot – their anniversairy, the twins birthday, Monica's birthday and the day they disappeared.

Chandler knew that his new family saved him from depression and possibly even suicide. He knew that with them he could get through anything.


End file.
